5 Relationship Types and How to Strengthen Your Bonds

Relationships are a part of life, but why? If we have learned anything during the pandemic, it has been that although isolation is necessary for particular seasons of our lives, we thrive when we are part of a social circle.

This circle can include your spouse, children, parents, siblings, coworkers, or the friendly mail delivery carrier. You choose the people and how much access they have to your life. Knowing the five relationship types and how you can strengthen those bonds can serve you well in every area of life.

Why Relationships are Necessary

Positive relationships are necessary for the formation of social skills and happiness. Different types of relationships fulfill various needs throughout life and can result in better emotional and mental health. Not feeling alone, even when you are struggling, is crucial to avoiding specific mental condition symptoms such as depression.

Relationships, even the hard and toxic ones, help build emotional resilience. Resiliency will help you overcome challenges throughout life and move forward instead of staying “stuck,” reliving hurt, disappointment, or trauma.

Relationships provide a support system and other people to share your burdens. When going through something challenging, you want people who love and care about you to help stand in the gap. Relationships allow you to support others and be a blessing when they need it.

As relationships form early, those bonds may shape the person you become. But remember, even if your relationships throughout childhood were tumultuous, you have the resources to lead a different life. You can choose to surround yourself with people who can push you to learn more, think differently, and act appropriately. The relationships you choose later in life can either bless you or harm you.

Not every relationship needs to be a close, intimate one to benefit you. Building a friendly relationship with people in your community can lift your spirits and give you a sense of belonging and acceptance. This means being genuinely interested in others and asking questions. People love to talk about themselves, so ask questions about them.

The more you get to know people, learn their names, and ask about their lives, the greater chances you will build a network of healthy relationships.

Five Types of Relationships

From the moment you are born, you form relationships with the people around you. As you grow and mature, the types of relationships you create change and mature as well. Every kind of relationship serves a purpose in your life, but you need to know how to nurture each one.

Family Relationships

The family relationship is the first and most basic of the types of relationships. It is the one where our identity is formed. Alongside others we learn love and acceptance, we see positive behaviors modeled, and, unfortunately, may also absorb negative behaviors.

Families vary but can include:

• Your immediate family you were born into, such as your parents, grandparents, and siblings
• An extended family of aunts, uncles, and cousins
• A blended family with stepparents and stepsiblings
• A family who chose you through adoption
• Other people who raised and nurtured you through childhood

The bond you have with your family works as a foundation to prepare you for other relationships in the future. Every family has problems, and you may need to learn how to overcome childhood hurts, neglect, abandonment, or trauma to have strong relationships.

Friendships

Most people begin forming friendships early as a child in church, preschool, or elementary school. They may have one best friend or several. They might have dozens of friends, but only two close friends. This is the relationship where you learn to confide, give, and take. Unlike your family, which you cannot choose, your friends are the people you decide to associate with daily or weekly.

It is also when you learn that not every friendship will last the test of time as you grow and change. You learn to resolve conflicts in a friendship and, in some cases, begin to feel a romantic love toward the other person.

Close friends offer a support system to encourage you during the most challenging parts of your life. They can stand by you during grief, death, failures, divorce, and other devastating life events. But they are also there to celebrate when you get a new job, graduate college, get married, and give birth.

Romantic Relationships

You can develop romantic feelings toward another person in your teen years as you begin to take notice of others and develop sexual feelings. You may date and fall head over heels in love. Hormones play a crucial role during puberty, and emotions run high. However, many teen romances end as we become young adults.

By the time you are in your twenties and thirties, you may be ready for a deeper relationship. This is also the time when we can fall victim to abusive relationships and codependency. You may want to consider premarital counseling before you marry someone. Marriage is a covenant between you, your spouse, and God. Now is the time to figure out how the two of you plan to handle disagreements, finances, housework, and raising children.

All romantic relationships face challenges. You will want to learn how to make your relationship stand the test of time. Two are better than one, and the right partner will make you stronger.

Work Relationships

To grow personally and professionally, you must form work relationships. Coworkers and teams that learn to work collaboratively are more likely to share information, network in their industry, and be more creative. When you have good work relationships, your stress level lowers as you recognize that you have support from others in the same situation.

Work relationships also provide you with a mentorship role. When you start at a new company, you are often assigned a trainer who will show you the ropes. As you spend more time in the environment, you can find a mentor, someone who is at the top of their game at the company or in the position you want someday. As the company welcomes new hires, you can resume the mentor role for someone else.

Not every work relationship will last after you leave your job, but some will. Many people find their closest friends through past jobs.

Acquaintanceships

Family, close friends, romantic partners, and work friends are essential in forming a sense of community and belonging. However, we should also add acquaintances to that list. Acquaintances are the people you know in passing: the girl who makes your latte every morning at the coffee shop, the friendly pharmacy tech who fills your medication each month, and the neighbor who waves and briefly speaks every time they see you.

These relationships lend to that sense of belonging. Being friendly and open to those in our neighborhood builds community. Since these people know others you do not, they can be excellent sources for social networking and referrals. That pharmacy tech may know the perfect lawyer for your accident case, or that barista’s boyfriend might have an opening at his company that would be perfect for you.

Building and maintaining acquaintance relationships require genuine kindness based on Christ’s love. Model your behaviors after Jesus to live at peace with everyone.

Trouble with your relationships?

We wish we could say that you will never have relationship issues, but every type of relationship can face conflict at some point. Close relationships are worth facing the challenges, especially if you see those issues as opportunities. However, some relationships turn toxic, and you must figure out how to distance yourself from that situation.

That is where a Christian counselor can help you through problems with any of the types of relationships. Contact our office today to connect to a counselor.